Those who know me know that I’m not a big fruits and vegetables kind of guy. I know that I should eat more, but I definitely struggle eating the balanced diet that I should. I really am more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

As I was running around Costco today, lunching on all the free samples, I ran onto a product called Voots. They are little chewable tablets, each of which they claim to contain 12 fruits and vegetables along with all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavonoids. This is fantastic!

They claim to taste like candy. I tried a sample and they don’t taste too bad. I could eat these and never eat another fruit or vegetable again…woo hoo!

Okay, I’m forcing you to join me in my boredom at the tire shop. Hey, get back here. I need some company.

Yesterday, we woke up to some snow on the ground. The Older Daughter is now driving to school every day. Being an adult with lots of life experience, I advised her to keep her speed down and not follow too close. Then I headed out to work.

It really wasn’t that slick…until…the final road leading to my workplace. Me…the responsible adult…with all my life experience…found myself going a little faster than I should have and following a little too close. I discovered this fact when the truck in front of me came to a sudden, dead stop. I hit the brakes, but just slid. All I had time to do was swerve to avoid rear-ending the truck. I jumped the curb and then ran over some concrete scraps. There was a nasty scraping noise underneath the car. Not missing a beat, I regained control and got right back on the road. There didn’t seem by be anything wrong with the car.

Backtrack with me to a few months ago. Same tire shop said that I needed new tires, but that they could go a little longer. Looking at the bank account and the economy, I decided to wait. I was hoping I could milk them until next fall to save a few bucks. This is the responsible, smart adult thinking again. I had noticed some loss of traction…particularly with water, dirt, or gravel on the road. After yesterday, it would appear that this same loss of traction also applies to ice and snow. Go figure.

Since I drive about 30,000 miles per year, I decided to go with tire that has the longest tread life, longest warranty, and, therefore, the highest price. They are the Toyo Eclipse. It’s going to be a little under $600 out the door for the 4 tires. The warranty is for 70,000 miles. Sheesh, they’re only going to last a little over 2 years. Oh well, better $600 every couple years than $400 every year I guess.

While I’m here, they’re going to hoist the car up high enough to see if there is any damage under the car. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. However, given my luck, you’ll see another post soon about the damage.

Thanks for hanging out with me at the tire shop and listening to my sad, boring tale. You may go now if you would like. I might just take a nap while I wait.

Many of you may have heard of the six degress of separation. That is, the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is no more than six “steps” away from each person on Earth.

Eight years ago, there was the promise of a new presidency. I (and many others) thought that George W. Bush had the potential to be one of the greatest presidents in history–that he was at least in the same ballpark as Ronald Reagan.

In the end, we were left with mostly disappointment. Promises such as Social Security reform never even got out of the starting gate; we saw massive increases in the commitments of the Federal Government without the resources to cover them; we continue to fight a war that, if fought properly, would have been over long ago. Instead, it has become a wildly unpopular war.

His crowning achievement is that we have gone more than 7 years without a follow-up to the 9/11 attacks. I don’t think this is an accident and I don’t think it should be minimized.

I think that history (long after we are all gone) will judge George W much gentler than we have. Another massive terrorist attack would have tanked the economy even more than it has been already.

Despite some obvious failures, I do not think we can doubt his character, his intentions, or his love for this country. Despite the pundits, I really believe he did what he thought was right all along. I don’t believe any of it was self-seving.

He could have earned much more in the private sector than he did as president. No, I believe that this last 8 years was a labor of love. The overwhelming majority of us could not handle this job–nor tolerate it vs. the pay given.

GW took on the challenge and did the best that he could. For that, we need honor and thank him for his commitment to his country.